I made my own pesto! I am so excited! My whole adult life, I have used store-bought pesto. It never even occurred to me to make my own. But since I have entered the food blogging world, I am making from scratch many things that I used to buy. If you have a food processor, pesto really is the easiest thing, and then you can experiment with variations!
So for this variation, I decided to use broccoli in my pesto. I didn’t have quite enough basil leaves, so I wanted to add something that would give me more pesto for my basil buck. I had some broccoli florets in the refrigerator, so I decide to give them a go. And I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!
This is great way to get more broccoli into the kids without them complaining about it. I am a huge fan of hidden vegetables. Don’t misunderstand, though. My goal is not to trick them into eating vegetables without knowing it, it is simply to integrate them within a recipe that makes it more pleasant for them to eat the vegetables.
So I probably shouldn’t call them ‘hidden’. Maybe ’embedded vegetables’ is a better phrase. Or ‘enhanced vegetables’. Or ‘edible objects formerly known as vegetables’. Haha! Anyone have other ideas? 😀
Broccoli Pesto
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 20 large basil leaves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine broccoli florets and basil leaves in a food processor or blender, and pulse until the broccoli and basil are chopped very finely.
- Add the pine nuts to the food processor and continue to pulse until they are also chopped very finely.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, lemon juice, and garlic, and process until well combined.
- Add the olive oil and process until the mixture is smooth.
Nutrition
Note: This post has been shared at THESE link parties!
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Denise Bryant
March 22, 2018 at 9:23 pmI love pesto and I’ve never thought to try it with broccoli. Thanks for sharing this with us at the Waste Not Wednesday link party. Can’t wait to see what you’re up to this week.
Jess
March 14, 2018 at 1:45 pmPinned!! This sounds amazing!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Nikki Gwin
March 13, 2018 at 5:43 pmI love making pesto but I’ve never tried broccoli! Was it raw or cooked?
Also HOW do you photograph pesto and have it show true colors? I just simply have had NO luck with getting good pictures of pesto or verde salsa. I am assuming its the green color that isn’t working for me. I’ve tried more lighting but still….
🙂 gwingal
Sarah R.
March 25, 2015 at 9:03 amOh how yum! My husband loves broccoli…will definitely have to try this. So glad you linked up at Snickerdoodle Sunday- can’t wait to see your latest makes this weekend!
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Kristin King
March 25, 2015 at 6:20 pmThanks, Sarah!
Diane
March 22, 2015 at 2:11 amThat’s a nice twist on Pesto! Love the broccoli addition! Thank you for linking up at the #PureBlogLove Link Party. The party begins every Thursday night at 8 p.m. and runs through the week end. I’m hosting at http://www.homemadefoodjunkie.com. Can’t wait to see more of your ideas!
Lynn
March 21, 2015 at 11:59 amYum! Gonna try this –and I am totally fine with hidden vegetables!
Kristin King
March 25, 2015 at 6:31 pmThanks, Lynn! I hope you enjoy it!
Charlotte
March 21, 2015 at 10:32 amI love broccoli and pesto but have never thought of mixing them together. What a great idea!
This looks like a healthy and tasty addition to my vegetarian recipe collection. Shared this. I will try it maybe with bean pasta. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Kristin King
March 25, 2015 at 6:33 pmOh, bean pasta is a wonderful idea! 🙂
Zelda Behr
March 18, 2015 at 10:22 amI have never thought of making pesto with broccoli! great idea.
Allie
March 17, 2015 at 10:09 pmPinning! This looks delicious! I’d love to try it over some homemade pasta.
Lisa / Jersey Girl Cooks
March 11, 2015 at 12:40 pmI love that you added broccoli! This would be great with pasta.
William Brooks
March 6, 2015 at 12:45 pmI am diabetic so this will work for me, thank you for sharing and we just got a new food processor to use it in.
Joanne T Ferguson
March 4, 2015 at 8:25 pmG’day! Your pesto looks amazing and love the photo too Cheers! Joanne
Krista
March 4, 2015 at 11:06 amThis is a great idea. I’ve done something similar before but using spinach, I never thought of broccoli! I’m going to give it a try!